Yet another "UCA/LCA/balljoint" rebuild thread

[shifty]

Ok, I ordered the parts to bag my truck. I know nothing about control arms, the associated bolts, posts and bushings, so I am coming here for help. I have already replaced and refurbished my pitman+idler arms, tie rods, center link and power steering box, and did a writeup in the FAQ on "How to upgrade to power steering on 67-72 pickups". Since I'll be bagging this thing and blasting/coating the frame, I figure I might as well replace all the old control arm crap and original, never replaced balljoints. I just don't know how or where to start.

It looks like there are no good threads on how to rebuild the front suspension (UCA/LCA + ball joints + anything else). I want to create one, but I don't know the first thing about UCA, LCA and balljoints, so ... I'd like someone to help me understand. ebfabman's thread on how to do the UCA and LCA and BJ's has teeny tiny pictures and wasn't helpful.

This is what I'm up against...I bought the upper and lower balljoints already -

What else do I need to buy?
Should I replace any of the mounting bolts with newer, stainless steel hardware? If so, where is the best place to get it? I'm primarily wanting to replace the two "posts" that hold the UCA bushing/mount in place.

[Shane]

You don't really want to use stainless bolts or nuts on suspension components due to SS being a softer material. Use Grade 8 bolts and nuts.

As far as rebuilding UCA and LCA, other than the ball joints the only other things that are replaceable are the bump stops and the control arm shafts. Concerning the control arm bolts , if they are tight when you remove the upper control arm and have NO worn spots then there is no real reason to replace them. Just give them a good scrubbing with something like Gunk and a wire brush and you should be golden.

Good Luck!

[chevydog66]

Just get new cross shafts, upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, and a new idler and pitman arm and you will have a new front end. The new motor sure is kewl!!

[gringoloco]

What he said. No on the stainless. The UCA mounting studs should be fine. The cross shafts will have some slop in them if they were not greased faithfully.

I ditched them and went with 73-87 arms on both my trucks. They are a direct bolt on, and have rubber bushed shafts and a shallower spring pocket allowing more clearance for your bags.

UBJs bolt in after you grind out the rivets holding the stockers on. The lowers are a press fit. Don't try the hammer method...

You may want to remove the bumpstop bracket while you're in there. It will cause interference problems with your bags.

Also, it's probably a good idea to upgrade the LCA u-bolts to the larger 73-87 style, just for peace of mind. Once you see the difference in size, you will never want to use the puny stock ones again. They are scary in comparison. One of mine was actually broken, I just got lucky somehow and never dropped the arm.

[jlaird]

chances are you won't need new cross shafts, but I know for the lowers, you will need new bushings that go on the shafts.

[shifty]

stupid question time: what the hell is a cross shaft?

[gringoloco]

It is what the a-arms pivot on. They are steel bushed at the ends where they rotate. Later arms are rubber bushed. The uppers bolt on to the two studs- the lowers are held underneath by u-bolts and are kept from spinning by locating pins on the crossmember.

[jlaird]

hey gringo, you cant put those later style lower shafts/bushings in the older arms can you? I wouldn't think so because the older style arms are threaded, but just wanted to make sure.

[shifty]

Ok, this will work. There is a teardown of the '68 C10 front end in the latest edition of TruckBuilder mag, so I have a good rough starter guide on how to get it done. I think the worst part is gonna be figuring out the cross shafts. I'll be rolling the frame out this weekend and taking a pressure washer to the rear axle and the front drums and suspension.

If you look at the cross shafts, it looks like they've been greased pretty damned religiously. I will say this for the PO - my truck is in good enough shape that it looks like it was restored within the last 6-10 years, I can tell that everything requiring grease was definitely maintained, but the suspension has obviously never been touched for repairs, including the drums.

I'm going to delete the stock e-brake cable and remove all of the brake lines over the weekend. I want to upgrade to 5-on-5 axles, which means going to disks but gotta find the budget for that. I just don't have it right now, and I'm not sure if the tax return is going to be enough this year.

[Shane]

If the cross shafts are good, I wouldn't fool with replacing them. New ball joints and tie-rod ends should do it for ya.

Question: why delete the stock E brake cable? I have disks on the rear of my '67 and I used the stock E brake cable by adapting it to the Caddy calipers.

[shifty]

I have the X-shaped cable. It smacks into into the tailshaft of my tranny and it's also scraping the paint off my tranny xmember.

I plan on going with Camaro or Impala discs later, and I think that just uses a single line, which I find more convenient than the X-shaped crossover line. I could be mistaken, but ... either way, I'm really looking forward to removing the current eBrake cable.

[jlaird]

Originally Posted by shifty

I have the X-shaped cable. It smacks into into the tailshaft of my tranny and it's also scraping the paint off my tranny xmember.

I plan on going with Camaro or Impala discs later, and I think that just uses a single line, which I find more convenient than the X-shaped crossover line. I could be mistaken, but ... either way, I'm really looking forward to removing the current eBrake cable.

That's cool and everything, but here in the great state of NY, the truck wouldnt pass inspection if the ebrake went missing. I would love to have all that ebrake crap out of there, but my own father in-law who owns a NYS inspection station said I need it to pass. Bastard!!!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by shifty

I want to upgrade to 5-on-5 axles, which means going to disks but gotta find the budget for that. I just don't have it right now, and I'm not sure if the tax return is going to be enough this year.

Uncle Sam is giving us all a $600 tax rebate this year to 'boost the economy'. What better way to do that than spend it on necessities like drop spindles and disc brakes?

[shifty]

I just dropped all of what I had. If I hadn't thrown away $630 unsuccessfully trying to swap frames, I probably could have upgraded